Should the digital age change ethics?

Olivia Bower

ob023312@ohio.edu

Digital and mobile platforms for spreading information are taking over the world. No, this phenomenon isn’t a new form of Y2K. Instead, it’s changing how the media deals with stories and events and possibly making way for a new code of ethics.

From newspapers that are primarily print sources to digital-only news outlets, the media today is reacting to public demand for news everywhere, all the time, in every form. Print publications must increasingly compete with online news sources that use the far-reaching powers of the Internet to get news out faster and to more readers. This challenge, ever intensifying in the digital age, makes cutting corners while reporting sometimes appear an acceptable choice. Because, for some in the news business, lagging behind the competition means less money in the end.

Money, at times, unfortunately plays a large role in deciding what gets reported and in how, as well as the quality of the news reported. In 2013, for example, the Chicago Sun-Times laid off its photography staff in an effort to “to evolve with our digitally savvy customers,” reported the Chicago Tribune. Let's be honest -- while the Sun-Times says it's trying to change with its customers' needs, money was probably a deciding factor. And the move to cut an experienced, award-winning staff in favor of freelance photographers and reporters who would most likely be paid less can be argued as a question of ethics. Is it unethical to replace a group of people which has reported accurately in the past and knows the community well? What if the freelancers replacing the veterans don’t know the area as well? Can they report news as fairly as their predecessors?

A parody front page via @ianwarsenault featured on jimromenesko.com.

Cutting corners when it comes to reporting facts is another situation where money and ethics collide in the digital age. If an outlet’s profits depend on how fast it gets certain news published compared to its competition, then there will be more incentive to skip steps when gathering information in order to make the most money. The instantaneous spread of news with digital publishing adds another component to the mix. Attempting to be the first to publish breaking news stories, many outlets made factual errors in 2013, including misidentifying the Boston bombing suspects. 

  

If the ways the media gathers and presents information are changing from the ways of the past, should a new code of ethics be developed to evolve with such change? How should we deal with temptations, like crowdsourcing and using unnamed sources or the increased use of social media, that previously didn’t have such a large role or any role at all in journalism? If the world is changing, shouldn’t journalism and its ethics evolve too? Society and consumers of news often hold a negative view of the media and its ethics. Would a digitally conscious code of ethics make the public trust the press a bit more and help with its credibility? It’s safe to say that the media in today’s culture desperately needs to revamp its image somehow.